I knew I would enjoy this novel from the very first sentence, and I was not wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Poppy Hammond's world. Yes, she was a bit presumptuous at times, but what a great character--I love how she took charge of her life. Then there is Sebastian, whom I adored (maybe even had a little crush on).

A little about the book, set in 1920: Penelope "Poppy" Hammond, step daughter to a wealthy industrialist, ditches her stiff groom on their wedding day, enlisting the aid of Curate Sebastian Cantrip. They flee to Poppy's father's country village home in England. It is there that Poppy reflects on her life thus far--how little she's accomplished and how often she's failed to follow through. Deciding to change that, Poppy is determined to return to London to find Sebastian Cantrip and thank him for his help as well as maybe find herself a little adventure. And adventure she finds in spades! For the mysterious curate is not who he says he is--nor is he where she thought she'd find him. Poppy, along with her lady's maid, Masterman, begin their own investigation into the identity and whereabouts of Sebastian.

Their adventure takes them from the ports of London to Damascus and the deserts beyond. There is intrigue, treachery, romance, and danger at every turn. Poppy is quick witted and intelligent. She is ever tenacious. Her wealthy upbringing showed a few times, her privilege and class being both a hindrance and a help.

I especially enjoyed the references to the political and social turmoil in Damascus and among the Bedouin tribes throughout the novel. As well as the descriptions of the city itself. Damascus was very much a character all its own, as was the desert. There was a romantic air about it and a dangerous one.

There is humor throughout the novel, and I found myself laughing as often as I found myself holding my breath in suspense, waiting to see what would happen next. This book wasn't quite what I expected in that I expected more romance and less adventure, but the level of adventure and intrigue was quite high. I liked how the romance progressed through the novel--more of a slow tease and less of an "in your face" type.

While things may fall a little too conveniently together in the end, this did not bring down my enjoyment of the novel in any way. It does make me anxious, however, to read City of Jasmine. When I first volunteered to read Night of a Thousand Stars, I had no idea it was a companion book to another that features some familiar characters. My only quibble with not reading that book first is that I did not get to experience the excitement others did about running into those familiar characters again. Just the same, Night of a Thousand Stars is perfectly fine as a stand alone, and, I feel, nothing is lost in reading them out of order or even just one or the other.

I look forward to reading more by Deanna Raybourn in the future. I can see why she's such a well-liked author.

Review copy provided by publisher. Originally reviewed on Musings of a Bookish Kitty, my blog. ( )

Another adventure novel from Deanna Raybourn, another great story. Poppy is a funny and feisty heroine, determined to find her hero and have her adventure. After jilting her betrothed at the church, she meets up with the father she hasn't seen in ages before bouncing off to the Holy Land in search of the man who helped her abscond. The setting, the love story, and the mystery are intriguing and all play out smoothly and satisfyingly. ( )

This was a fun read - reminded me alot of Mary Stewart's books! I'm not sure if this is a stand-alone or first of a series but It ended with hints of more to come so hopefully we will see more of Poppy & Sebastian. I was kind of surprised of how far in the future they aged the March family because in the Lady Julia series they are definitely not that old. Not sure why it was written that way. I would have thought they would have coincided the ages to match both series but anyways what do I know?! ( )

Deanna Raybourn is best known for her Lady Julia series. I confess I have not read these, but they are in my tbr pile. I have read one of her other novels, The Dead Travel Fast. It's been some time since I've read it, but I remember liking Raybourn's writing style. So, of course, I jumped at the chance to read Night of A Thousand Stars. And believe me when I say I was not disappointed.

I immediately fell in love with the main character, Poppy Hammond. She's utterly charming and enchanting. She defies tradition at every turn. And that's the kind of heroine I can get behind. After leaving her fiance at the alter, Poppy runs to the one person who she hopes she can count on--her father. She enlists the help of curate to make her escape. Once safe and sound at her father's house, she can't forget the kindness of the curate. When she pops by his church unexpectedly, she learns that the curate might be in danger. What's a girl to do? Go gallivanting across seas and deserts to save him of course!

This book entails everything I love mystery, history, and romance! I quickly found myself engrossed in Poppy's world, and I didn't want to leave. I love the characters--both good and bad--in this book. Poppy and her maid make quite a team like Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. I will definitely be moving the Lady Julia books closer to the top of my tbr pile.
Read more at http://www.toreadornottoread.net/2014/10/review-night-of-thousand-stars.html#prd... ( )

I am a fan of this author's. While I really miss Lady Julia Grey. I have enjoyed this new path that the author has taken with her last couple of books in the histrocial fiction genre, A Spear of Summer Grass and City of Jasmine. So I was looking forward to read her newwest book, Night of a Thousand Stars. Despite the mention and some reference to Lady Julia Grey, I had a really really hard time wantint to stick with this book. The beginning was fine. Nothing too interesting about the characters but the background/time period was good. I put the book down after about six chapters thinking it was just my current mood. I came back to the book later and thought I would give it another chance. I was hoping that the story and the characters would grab me once Poppy started her grand adventure. This did not happen. In fact, I grew even more bored and finally gave up on this book. I can't even remember a thing about it. Bummer. ( )